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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. bark — to shout
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. wound — an injury
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. wound — an injury
  10. tube — the underground
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. clip — to cut
  14. kick — in football
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. face — part of the head
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. tube — a container
  19. face — to point toward
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. clip — a video
  23. face — to confront
  24. clip — for paper

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com